UPDATED: Palin Expresses Her Concern on the "Economic Stimulus"

An excerpt of today's press conference (h/t AlexRaye). Not a teleprompter in sight...



Here's the video of the full press conference:



(h/t TommyReport)

KTVA reports:

Governor Sarah Palin announced that she is proposing a bill that will allow the state to accept only 55-percent of federal recovery funds. Palin gave several examples that underlined her reasoning for wanting to reject the funds. In total, if the bill were passed, $515-million of the almost $1-billion would be rejected by the state.

Please keep in mind the language in the "stimulus" bill that allows the state legislature to go around the governor in accepting "stimulus" funds.

UPDATE by Sinistar: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports:

Protesting federal "strings," attached to stimulus funding, Gov. Sarah Palin said she doesn't want nearly half the estimated $930 million Alaska is eligible for.

"Will we chart our own course, or will Washington (D.C.) engineer it for us?" Palin said.

She expected to file an appropriations bill this afternoon accepting about $251.5 million in stimulus funds, coupled with allocations of $262.6 million already requested for transportation and aviation projects for a total state take of about $514.1 million.

Missing in her bill will be millions for education, especially under Title One, energy projects including some weatherization funding, and social services, all funds that Palin said are contingent on the state increasing the size of government, chipping in more dollars, or passing new laws that Alaskans might not want.

In a press conference Thursday morning, Palin said she looks forward to a public discussion in the Legislature about other funding.

She said she hopes the Legislature will have enough time to take up the stimulus issues before an April 3 deadline for her to accept the federal money. It's unclear still if the Legislature will have additional time to evaluate the funds.

"I would hope that's going to be enough time," Palin said. She also said she won't "get myself in a box" by saying she will or will not veto measures by the Legislature accepting more money than she is advising.

UPDATE by VO: The Anchorage Daily News finally has a reaction up. You have to forgive them for being slow, they just had massive layoffs today. Here's a Palin quote (emphasis added):

“We are not requesting funds intended to just grow government. We are not requesting more money for normal day to day operations of government as part of this economic stimulus package. In essence we say no to operating funds for more positions in government,” Palin said.

UPDATE by JR: Here's the written statement from the governor's office:

Alaska vows to be part of the solution, not the problem

March 19, 2009, Juneau, Alaska - Governor Sarah Palin submitted her federal economic stimulus appropriation bill to legislators today to provide jobs and needed infrastructure improvements in Alaska under the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Governor Palin is accepting just 55 percent of the available stimulus funds, all for capital projects. This amount includes the funds the state accepted last month for Department of Transportation projects.

"We will request federal stimulus funds for capital projects that will create new jobs and expand the economy," Governor Palin said. “We won’t be bound by federal strings in exchange for dollars, nor will we dig ourselves a deeper hole in two years when these federal funds are gone. For instance, in order to accept what look like attractive energy funds, our local communities would be required to adopt uniform building codes. Government would then be required to police those codes. These types of funds are not sensible for Alaska.”

The legislation does not include funding requests for government operating programs. Governor Palin has indicated the state will not stand in the way of local governments or other entities pursuing stimulus funds directly from the federal government.

"The law requires me to certify that the requests I forward for legislative approval will meet the requirements of the ARRA to create jobs and promote economic growth," Governor Palin said. “Legitimately, I can only certify capital projects that are job-ready. Alaska has seen unprecedented increases in the level of state funding for education because that is our priority. I don’t want to automatically increase federal funding for education program growth, such as the National Endowment for the Arts, at a time when Alaska can’t afford to sustain that increase."

"Simply expanding state government under this federal stimulus package creates an unrealistic expectation that the state will continue these programs when the federal funds are no longer available,” said Governor Palin. “Our nation is already over $11 trillion in debt; we can’t keep digging this hole.”

Preliminary estimates for federal economic stimulus funds to Alaska state agencies are approximately $930.7 million. Of that total, the state requested allocations for transportation and aviation projects in February estimated at $262.6 million, although more was requested in contingency and other funds. With the additional $251.5 million in economic stimulus funds requested today, the proposed total capital spending is $514.1 million, or 55 percent of the state's estimated allocation. Funds that are available competitively or that go directly to communities or other organizations are not included in these estimates.

"Our desire is to foster a discussion about what is true stimulus and what is just more federal interference in Alaskans' lives through the growth of government," Governor Palin said. "We think stimulus items devoted to government agency growth and program expansion ought to be examined in light of the funding needs already being addressed with our pending budget requests."

Not counting the transportation stimulus dollars the governor requested in February, today's legislation requests $252.5 million for capital projects. Capital projects requested include $20.7 million for education and job training, $68.6 million for water and sewer projects and storage tank replacements, $3.0 million for the Alaska Vocational Training Center, $2.5 million for Fire Fuels and Forest Management, $39.6 million for public housing projects through the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, and $116.0 million for the University of Alaska Fairbanks Research Vessel. The bill also includes two $1.0 million placeholders for competitive grant opportunities for state agencies and the University.

"We need to ensure that these stimulus dollars are used for job opportunities for Alaskans, while preserving the regular operating spending decisions through the normal budget process," Governor Palin said.

Audio of the press conference can be found here.

UPDATE II by VO: Reactions at Hot Air, Ace of Spades HQ, Free Republic, The Campaign Spot, Huffington Post, JammieWearingFool, NRO, and Painter at RedState.

UPDATE by RAM: (h/t ugafish) Alaska radio show host Eddie Burke interviewed Dennis Dewitt, the Alaska state director of the National Federation of Independent Business, about the negative impact of the stimulus on business and Gov. Palin's principled stand against the stimulus. The Alaska NFIB put out a statement in support of Gov. Palin's decision to reject portions of stimulus. Eddie also responded to an email stating that Gov. Palin should be impeached for not accepting the money. Here's the audio: Part 1 and Part 2.

UPDATE by Mel: (h/t TommyReport) Alaska Dispatch has reaction from Senator Lisa Murkowski:

"I applaud the Governor for taking the transportation and other infrastructure funding because this will create jobs in Alaska. The law requires the Governor to certify that the stimulus funds be used to create jobs and foster economic growth," Murkowski said in an email. "The Governor has made her decision and now the Legislature will have an opportunity to review the decision."

And Anchorage School District Superintendent Carol Comeau gives Olbermann a quote for his story:

"We're shocked and very disappointed that the governor said she would reject the education stimulus money for Title I and IDEA programs. We believe that we can make very good use of the funds, not only in job preservation but also in adding new positions to ultimately use these funds to increase student achievement for our neediest children."

UPDATE II by RAM: Gov. Palin gets high praise from Don Surber across the pond, but not much love from the DNC, which has officially released a statement (h/t TommyReport). ABC's The Note Blog has the following statement from DNC communications director Brad Woodhouse:

After soliciting and accepting more federal dollars per capita than any other governor in the union, Sarah Palin's decision today to deny the state of Alaska over half a billion dollars in recovery and reinvestment funds - including millions for schools, energy and public safety - appears to be nothing more than political posturing. At a time when her state is suffering, Alaska's working families cannot afford a governor that puts her political future ahead of the needs of the state and its families.

We commented on Gov. Palin's earmarks in the federal omnibus appropriations bill here and here. It should be noted that there is a huge difference between the stimulus and the omnibus.

As Gov. Palin noted in her press release about the earmark requests:

"Our eight requests have broad public support and have been vetted through a transparent public process, and most of the projects are nationally significant," Governor Palin said. "The new requests are for national security, with upgrades at the Kodiak Missile Defense Complex, and for America's energy security, with replacement of a bridge that is critical for a natural gas pipeline."

UPDATE III by RAM: The ADN is reporting that Gov. Palin rejected 30% of the stimulus money. She claims to be accepting only 55%. So where's the missing 15%? The discrepancy is over the Medicaid funding. Palin already accepted that and doesn't consider it part of the stimulus funding; hence, her figure of accepting only 55%.

Here is a breakdown of the Palin administration's stimulus requests.

And see here for further information.

Also, here's Gov. Palin's letter to state lawmakers regarding her decision on the stimulus.

UPDATE IV by RAM: By the way, what happened today was exactly what I predicted would happen way back in January. She said she would support infrastructure projects that create jobs, but would not support new mandate programs that would fall on the state to fund after the federal dollars dry up in two years. She has simply followed through on what she said all along. Gov. Palin doesn't play games.

UPDATE II by Mel: Some legislators are pushing the idea that Gov. Palin is pursuing national ambitions over the needs of Alaskans (I'm looking at you, Mike Doogan). The governor addressed this in her press conference today (click on "Governor's Press Conference; this Q&A begins at the 34:15 mark in the audio):

Reporter: Governor, your profile obviously extends beyond Alaska. What kind of a national message are you seeking to send with this?

Palin: I don't know, but I know that there are no national reporters here. So, the only way national reporters would even know is when you guys put the stories online. So, if we don't want the rest of the nation to know what it is that I'm saying then don't put the stories online. But it doesn't matter to me what on a national level people are going to say about our reaction here to what the feds are doing. Serving Alaskans, this is my concern. And Alaska has an opportunity to be part of a solution, not part of the problem, though, on a federal level. But Alaska is what my concern is.

UPDATE III by Mel: There's been some confusion over exactly how much Gov. Palin is turning down, and how much she's accepting because of how the Medicaid funds are being addressed.

Karen Rehfeld, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, said in the press conference (beginning at the 16:49 mark):

And, finally, I wanted to mention -- as I'm certain you are aware -- in the governor's FY10 budget amendments and in our 09 supplemental bill, we did request authorization to include the increased reimbursement for Medicaid. So, that is already before the legislature and being considered.

And KTUU has an article up with a couple of nice quotes (the full article is well worth your time):

"We can't accept the bait," Gov. Palin said. "To me it's a bribe. 'Here take these dollars. You got to grow government.'"

Sen. Gene Therriault backed up the governor's position:

"What the federal government is in my opinion trying to do, is put this carrot out there, to get the states in their zeal to grab the money, and expand these federal programs tremendously," Sen. Gene Therriault, R-North Pole, said.

UPDATE V by RAM: We've discussed the budget shortfall Alaska is facing this year here and here. In an article in the Alaska Journal of Commerce, Rep. Mike Hawker (R-Anchorage) is quoted as saying:

"This is a responsible budget, but not a sustainable budget," Hawker commented on the House floor. "It meets the needs of Alaska, but also needs to be the beginning of a new discussion about what we expect from government and how we are going to pay for it. The continuing decline in oil production on the North Slope is Alaska's greatest challenge, and we must engage in a frank public discussion of this reality and our alternate courses of action."

Current state spending on mandate programs is not "sustainable," and yet Hawker is quoted in the above KTUU article as wanting Gov. Palin to take more stimulus money for more unfunded mandate programs that will only add to the state's unsustainable budget in the future. What is he thinking? Or is he thinking at all? How is this man a Republican? He's certainly not a conservative.

UPDATE III by VO: In the "wonders never cease" department, Dan Fagan supports Palin's position.

UPDATE IV by Mel: Gov. Palin has a new press release out.

UPDATE VI by RAM: See here for our latest coverage on this story.